Ted Schmidt
Character Theodore Schmidt is a fictional character from the Showtime original series Queer as Folk. He is the oldest of gay male of the main friend group. Background He goes to college for finance and joins a fraternity. He reveals an attraction for one of the members which he was punched in the face and "unzapped". He continues to work for the same employer he interned for a decent stability until his mid thirties where he eventually meets Michael and the rest of the gang... Story Season One Ted begins the series as an accountant. Ted is a few years older than his friends and was portrayed as having difficulty in finding sexual partners or building a romantic relationship. His earliest attempt, with a younger man named Blake, ends with Ted in a coma from an overdose of GHB. After recovering he meets Blake again and they start a relationship. Blake is still using and Ted checks him into rehab, but Blake disappears. Season Two After Ted loses his job for viewing pornography at work, he turns his expertise in pornography into an online business, creating the website "JerkAtWork.net" (originally "JerkAtWork.com" but changed between seasons). Season Three At around the same time he starts a romantic relationship with best friend Emmett Honeycutt. Ted's business is shut down following a crackdown, when it's found that his assistant, who does not perform on the site, is underage. To avoid jail time, Ted surrenders all of the profits from the site. Disconsolate, Ted turns to drugs, especially crystal meth. His drug use and newly-discovered interest in anonymous sex parties leads him to lose Emmett as a boyfriend. Season Four After hitting bottom (stealing from Melanie and Lindsay's son's trust fund to pay his way to a circuit party), Ted checks himself into rehab. There he meets Blake again, who's become a counselor. After Ted finishes rehab he and Blake get romantically involved again but it ends shortly thereafter. Season Five Ted takes a job as the chief financial officer of Brian Kinney's new advertising agency. During this time, Ted's friendship with Brian is more stable and united. He takes on new responsibilities (including making advertising pitches) and grows in confidence, but is still insecure about his ability to keep a romantic relationship. He undergoes extensive plastic surgery (with no obvious results) and for a time bleaches his hair blonde. In the final two episodes, Ted becomes involved with yet another man who suddenly shows signs of Borderline personality disorder. Ted breaks up with him and, while on a ski trip with Emmett, reunites with Blake. The final scenes of the series show Ted and Blake dancing together in the restored Babylon, and then eventually with the rest of his friends. Relationships Ted has a great tendency to stray from his group of friends, mostly due to disasters in his life. At some points, he forsakes his friends, but they always manage to come through. Towards the end of the series, he comes to realize this and reaches out more towards them. Blake Wyzecki Ted's on again/off again lover. They share the same tragic tendencies. He is seen at first flirting with Ted Schmidt at Babylon. Ted takes him home, and Blake gets him to try GHB, with disastrous results. Ted falls into a coma and Blake runs out. Ted later finds out that Blake called for an ambulance after he fled. Towards the end of the first season, Ted sees Blake again at Babylon. Clearly "tweaked out," Ted takes him to the hospital, and tries to get him rehabilitated. He takes Blake in one night and find his wallet missing. He confronts Blake about his wallet, and believing that he is lying, he kicks Blake out. Ted finds his wallet under Michael's couch and feels guilty. While the gang is out in town, he sees Blake and apologizes and lets him know if he needs a place to stay, he can come to his condo. Blake comes and the two become steady and intimate for sometime. With the help of Melanie, ted goes as far to give Blake a position at her law firm, though he gets fired for not showing up, as it is clear he is still using crystal meth. Ted checks him into a rehab center, but when he comes to check up on him the next day, Blake has checked himself out leaving Ted Devastated. Melanie Marcus They share a close friendship. They are so close that often times people mistake them for a clean-cut heterosexual couple. They barter between each other's professions often as he does he taxes while he relies on her legal counsel and defense. In the first season, she helps Ted employ Blake as a legal assistant despite him ending up getting fired. Emmett Honeycutt He is best friends with Ted Schmidt from the beginning of the series and later lovers. After ted loses his career, Emmett helps Ted with his porn website as one of the jerkers. At the end of the second season, he becomes romantically involved later in the series. The relationship is short-lived, however, as Ted faces serious problems with drug addiction that place enormous strain on him and Emmett. After subtle struggle, they repair their friendship and embrace it. Michael Novotny They are good friends, but Ted has acquired a crush on Michael during the first of the series. The crush manifest into a stronger friendship throughout the series. Brian Kinney They are "frienemies". They constantly go "below the belt" with each other on issues with Brian often times with the upper hand. Ted ultimately admires Brian, but is also jealous of his confidence. Towards the end of the season, Brian is impressed by Ted's new found confidence and hires him as a CFO and assistant. This work rapport greatly improves their friendship overall. Trivia * He is played by Scott Lowell. * He was born in August. Category:American gay men Category:Accountants Category:Business owners Category:Drug addicts Category:Waiting staff Category:Kinnetik employees Category:Liberty Ride participants